


Old Sweet Home

by Kharasma



Category: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, First Kiss, Understanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-08 12:28:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4305084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kharasma/pseuds/Kharasma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's nothing Applejack loves more than having a home and watching it grow. Time to add Sunset to the family, in...a slightly more intense way than she expects.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Sweet Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VampirePaladin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampirePaladin/gifts).



Some folks were meant to come together, and to stick together through even the roughest life had to throw. When you had those special people at your side, you could do anything. You’d make each other better. Somewhere, deep down, Applejack always knew that to be true. She’d surrounded herself with as many people as possible, doing all that was in her power to make them happy.

When Twilight Sparkle brought them all back together, Applejack knew her belief in fate hadn't steered her wrong. The four friends who'd meant everything to her back then were back in her life, giving her all the family she'd ever need away from home. Nothing less, nothing more. Nothing could threaten her happiness. Then, of course...Twilight threw another complication into the mix of her new social life.

 _Sunset Shimmer_ was to become their friend too. The impossibly cool, deceptive to the end, two-faced, backstabbing...sorry, withdrawn, regretful girl now floating on the outside of their social circle. She followed their heels with all the eagerness of a lonely puppy, reminding Applejack strongly of those days when little Winona demanded a treat. Those days were...pretty much still ongoing if she thought about it. And wouldn't you know it, here came the girl she was just thinking about.

“Hey, Applejack, those look great. Working on another bake sale?”

Sunset Shimmer was peeking cautiously over Applejack’s shoulder, her nose bumping into Applejack's ear. How'd she get there so fast? The apple cinnamon muffins in the farm girl’s hand were just a little too tempting, it seemed. Sunset eyed them with a rare intensity, as if making up for lost time. 

“I sure am. Soccer team’s out for new uniforms, and this time I’ll be lassoing Rainbow myself if she doesn’t show,” Applejack grinned brightly. Oh, there wouldn’t be any more miscommunication mishaps to get in their way of their friendship, and that was such a relief. 

Sunset answered her with a slightly uneasy laugh, the sound wavering in the stale school hallway air. “Yeah. Good thing she won’t have her wings, though, or she’d just fly right off into the sun! Anyway, when is it? I’ve gotta buy a bite.”

That eager, huh? Applejack closed her locker and leaned on the door, smirking. “Guess my stuff’s not so disgustingly pedestrian anymore, now is it?”

The response to that dig was a little more than Applejack bargained for. Sunset groaned out her distress, hiding her eyes behind her hands. “That’s got to be among the worst things I ever said back there. I was really, really wrong about you. All of you.”

“Yeah, you were," obviously, "but...hey, you’re with us now. So that means you get at least one on the house,” Applejack offered, coming close to gently nudge Sunset’s arm. She could make a little point without rubbing Sunset’s nose in it, couldn’t she?

“You sure?” Sunset asked, her hopeful eyes and worried mouth making quite the interesting face. “I don’t want to hurt your bake sale, I know how important it is to Rainbow and how not-cool the other students are with me.” 

“Aww, she can handle a disappointment or two in her life,” Applejack insisted, waving her hand with a dismissive air. “So long as you don't go guzzling all the cider of course. Now that would be pure evil to her.”

Sunset laughed once more, but she sounded a little surer of herself this time. “Noted. So when do I get this taste?”

“I’ve gotta get a fresh batch after school, and my house is a right mess...I told Granny Smith she didn’t have to lead the construction crew this week, but turn my back for five minutes and she's got the whole dang barn wall blown to smithereens. So why don’t I stop by your place instead?”

The second those words sounded in the air, Sunset froze. Her eyes bulged just slightly, and before even considering the idea she was already in refusal mode. 

“I can’t---I mean, you can’t. It’s closed.”

“Now how, exactly, does one close a house?” Applejack crossed her eyes, not expecting that word.

“You shut the door? And maybe put the wall back up?” Sunset snorted. “But you can’t come to my house. I mean, not that you can't. You shouldn't. It’s not really for public consumption, y’know"?

“And why not? You’re talking like you’re living in some kind of pigsty,” Applejack grouched, folding her arms in her quest for an explanation.

S“It’s...sorta like that, except I don’t think even a pig would want to live with me. It’s just...not the kind of place you want to be unless you _have_ to be there, y’know?” 

“You saying you just have to be somewhere?” Applejack asked, propping her hand on her hip. This was getting a little worrisome. “Sounds like things aren't so good with your folks.”

Judging by the way Sunset recoiled, Applejack quickly realized she’d talked without thinking, again. Sunset sounded unusually distant when she answered. “My family? They’ve got nothing to do with any of this. I’m all on my own, it’s been that way the last three years---I’ve got a roof, that’s all I can ask for.”

Applejack slapped her forehead. Right, of course. Her parents would still be in Equestria. And come to think of it...was she sure Sunset even had a home? She never invited anyone over, and all her previous ‘cool kid’ parties had been down at the firehouse's event hall, from what she knew. A sudden image of Sunset living somewhere on the streets flashed through her mind.

“You mean you live alone?” Applejack asked, mouth agape. She would clearly not be letting this subject go any time soon.

“Yeah, where else would I go? I mean...you can stop by if you want to, but I don’t think you’ll want to stay,” Sunset murmured, rubbing her arm self-consciously. “It’s not the best place to have a chat.”

Applejack shook her head. She couldn't stand how dejected the girl looked---no matter what she'd done, no one deserved that. Somehow, some way, Applejack would burst into Sunset's house and show her it was worth seeing. “Nah, I’m coming. I’m thnking you could use a warm bite or two right at your house, and...maybe we’ll see about brightening things a bit?”

That could always cheer a girl right up---unless that girl was Rarity. Applejack's brand of housewarming hadn't gone over too well in that case.

“That’s really nice of you to offer, Applejack, but I just don’t know. Like I said, it’s a dump.”

“But it’s got you,” Applejack argued. “That’s reason enough to swing by---now no more fussing, I’ll see you at six,” she insisted, wagging a playful finger in Sunset’s direction. “And don’t you go eating too much beforehand either.”

“I won’t,” Sunset promised, still looking slightly uncertain...but here it was, her fate was sealed. Applejack would definitely be seeing into her life. How would that end? In just a few hours, she’d see where they really stood with each other, she supposed. 

\---

Those few hours passed in a whirlwind of smiles and greetings. Sunset watched as Pinkie Pie hugged her friends goodbye, squeezing the life out of them one by one...and then, for the first time, she found herself with an armful of Pinkie too. It’d been so long since she’d hugged anyone that she flailed for a moment. Where did her arms go? Oh, right---there! Okay. She had this down.

“See you tomorrow, Sunset! Oh, and take care of AJ for me,” Pinkie whispered in her ear. But before Sunset could ask what that could mean, Pinkie bounced off with a wave and a grin. Somehow, Pinkie knew exactly what was about to happen...and she was letting AJ go at it alone? At least it didn’t sound like the whole gang would be piling in. Letting them in one on one would be a little easier, Sunset hoped---and here she was, inviting Ms. Element of Honesty.. This had the potential to end badly, Sunset thought, wondering what the heck she’d been thinking when she agreed to this.

Her trek home was more eventful than usual---she had to stop by the grocers’ shop and cash in a few favors to get in something to eat. Luckily the delivery boy she knew had enough pull to get her some fresh bread and veggies. She couldn’t let Applejack think she was entirely starving on her own, she'd never heard the end of it.

Finally, Sunset reached home sweet home---a rickety old apartment, not good for much but for housing a girl who was down on her luck. She wiggled the doorknob just right---left twice, right once, then yank up---and then she was in, pulling open the mismatched curtains over her window. Maybe it wouldn’t look so bad in the light?

Once the snacks were set on the table, Sunset put herself to work. She’d make this place hospitable somehow---she had an old trunk, that could cover the unfinished part of the floor. There was a bucket to catch the leaks, maybe she could dress it up for some rustic charm? Some colored foil helped to dress up the bucket---now it almost looked like a plant's pot. She was almost tripping over herself to plaster over the marks on the walls---pictures from an old art textbook taped up would do nicely. And then...oh, there was the kitchen. It wasn’t hard to keep tidy for a single person, but she needed to get that mess out of the sink right this minute.

Sunset was elbow-deep in the dishwater when she heard indistinct thumping on the door. Her head whipped up to face the clock---it looked like it belonged in an aging resort with all its gaudy beads, but it worked well enough. “Already? Ah---coming, Applejack!” Sunset shouted at the stairs, taking the staircase two at a time and wiggling the door open. From the inside it was tug down, then twist to the right twice.

“Ah...howdy, Sunset. Hope you don’t mind I’m a tad early, that fritter didn’t want to stay put a moment longer...”

Applejack looked at her friend with a mildly surprised expression---what could she be thinking about? Sunset reached up to pull on her hair out of habit, and then she realized: she’d never taken the dish gloves off, and her hair was still messily pulled back. What a great first impression for her home life, she thought with an embarrassed flush.

“Yeah, uh. Hey, Applejack! I was just finishing up the chores, come on, come in, plenty of space here...”

Plenty of space for Sunset, maybe, but Applejack seemed to be giving the tiny apartment a skeptical eye. There were splashes of bright color here and there, but none of the furniture matched at all, and it looked like Sunset sometimes sat on cardboard boxes instead of a chair. Still...home was home, so Applejack just smiled at the brightest thing in the room---Sunset---and hoisted her basket up some more. 

“Where do you want this? I’ve got all kinds of our best stuff, you’ll be stuffed full for days, guaranteed,” Applejack promised with a wink.

“Right on the table. There’s healthy stuff too, if you don’t want to be crashing from sugar rushes all night,” Sunset said from the sink, finally pulling off those gloves once the dishes were all settled. She’d be doing them again in an hour or so anyway, but at least the place looked as presentable as it could.

“Sounds perfect, don’t mind if I do,” Applejack agreed, immediately gravitating to the greens. Just like home, she thought...or as ‘home’ as Sunset’s little apartment could be. Wasn't fancy even by her standards, but it was clearly pulled together by two hard-working hands. And that meant something. “So how’d you get the keys to this place, anyway? Didn’t think they let you get your own place ‘til you got out of high school.”

And there it was, Sunset thought, pulling her jacket back on out of habit. Applejack was going to cut right to the hard questions, wasn’t she? Well...she supposed she owed her an honest answer or two. Sunset returned to the little card table and plopped herself on a box, turning some toast in her hand as she started to speak.

“Yeah, that’s usually the case. I got here about three years ago with just my new clothes...no money, no food, nothing to my name. I guess I thought I wouldn’t need it---funny, with all that time I spent looking up everything about the mirror I didn’t put much thought into what I’d do when I got through it. I thought I could just take everything down with magic, like before.”

“For the first few days I was in the library. I begged Ms. Cheerilee to look the other way, and she did. I devoured everything I could, there...the history of this world, how to act, how to catch up, how to impress people. I think she really liked having someone so interested---I told her I was an exchange student from pretty far away, and somehow she bought it. But then she kept asking about my host family, and I definitely didn't want one of those.”

Applejack had leaned further and further over the table, engrossed in the story, but hearing that made her snap back to awareness. When she spoke, her voice was quite a bit softer. These words really meant something to her.. “And why not? Doesn’t everybody want someone looking after ‘em?”

Sunset shook her head regretfully. It sure sounded nice, but. “Not me. My parents didn’t exactly approve of my school domination plan, and a guardian would get in my way too. So I made a few friends at the offices and begged them to fix my paperwork---if I just proved I could provide for myself, I’d be free to do what I wanted. The paperwork helped but all I could get were freelance jobs. I’d need a lot more to afford any more than...this,” Sunset sighed, gesturing to her sad little apartment with a hand.

Those reminders of Sunset’s dark past were more like the girl she knew. Applejack nodded, her mild interest had started turning to sympathy before she knew it. “Well if you’re not scheming anymore, can’t you ask for help?”

Of course it wasn't that easy. “I’m already emancipated, and I’m too close to being an adult. Besides...I don’t think I’d want to inflict myself on any parent the way things are now. I don’t know how Principal Celestia kept the whole school’s parents from chasing me down after the fall formal. I turned their kids into zombies,” she laughed sourly. 

“Yeah, you did, but...hey, it worked out in the end 'cause of us, right?,” Applejack reminded her, scooting her stool close enough to give Sunset a friendly nudge. She now knew for certain the girl was sincere. “I know it won't happen again. And...I dunno, I don’t think shutting yourself away’s the best thing for you.”

“But what if I get like that again? I don’t want anybody else getting hurt...” Sunset whispered, looking more vulnerable than Applejack had ever seen her. Those were sad eyes, not hateful as they'd been before.

“Then we’ll stop you again,” Applejack said matter-of-factly, but she softened the impact of those words by booping Sunset on the nose.. “Besides, I really don’t think you will. You’ve got us now, and friends are there to help you up when you fall...know what I mean?”

Applejack then ribbed Sunset a little too playfully, forgetting her own strength and causing the box Sunset was sitting on to collapse. She flailed her arms and fell, quite literally...only to narrowly miss the ground when Applejack shot out of her chair and yanked her up by the waist. Those had to be impossible reflexes, Sunset thought, clinging to Applejack’s shoulders.

“Y’see?” Applejack chuckled, gently pulling them both back to their feet. “That’s what I’m here for.” Sunset still seemed to be looking at the ruins of her box, so Applejack reached over and guied her friends’ chin up. Was she blushing?

“Yeah,” Sunset agreed “With a show like that, I believe you,” she grinned, giving in to the impulse to give Applejack a quick hug. It took a second for Applejack to reciprocate, but Sunset soon learned that the farm girl gave an even tighter squeeze than Pinkie Pie. 

“Good. Now let’s fix this place right up,” Applejack said, pulling back long enough to give the apartment a quick eye. “You’ve done good, but you and me? We’ll do great,” she promised, linking her arm with Sunset’s.

“Oh yeah? What’ve you got in mind?” Sunset asked, tilting her head to look up at her.

“Well...we could use a quilt or two, and I brought some hay barrels out in the yard, and...”

“Whoa, wait a sec. Hay barrels?” Sunset’s eyes almost popped out of her head. Now that was a weird addition.

“I just thought it’d be more like home for you...”

“Home? Uh...Applejack, I think we might need to talk this over...”

“But you still eat hay, right?” Applejack smirked. 

“Not where anybody can---no!” Sunset insisted, shaking a fist. “Come on, I think we’ve got a lot to talk about before we even think about moving things,” she laughed, tugging Applejack back down to sit with her on the mattress. And just that simple act gave her a fleeting hint of an idea

"You sure? I bet it tastes pretty good." Applejack just wouldn't give this up, would she? She used her leg to draw the haybale closer to the mattress, snatching up a handful and waving it at Sunset's mouth. "Eat 'er up."

"No way, you do it," Sunset insisted, pressing the hay back with her hand. 

"All yours..." was Applejack's response, getting a little creative with her arm-twisting to try to edge it past Sunset's guard. Sunset was ready, though, and responded in kind, balancing herself on one hand and shoving with the other. But there was no winning a contest of strength with a farmhand, and soon Sunset found herself pinGooned to Applejack's bed. Even she couldn't deny that her cheeks were burning at this point.

"The answer's still no," said Sunset, defiant to the end.

"I don't think you've got room to be denying anything," Applejack crowed. "Face it, you're puckering up for it."

And there it was. That fluttering feeling in Sunset's heart had an answer. "Well, you're right about that...but not like you think." Here was her moment, so without another thought, she seized Applejack's shirt collar and yanked her down into a kiss. Her lips were warmer and drier than Sunset would've expected, but it had to come from working on a farm all day. And most interestingly, that had to be green apple lip gloss. Sunset licked her lips as she released her friend, a lazy smile winning out over the fear for once.

After the initial shock wore off, Applejack responded. Slowly, tentatively, but she noticed enough to realize that Sunset was quite warm. And her preferred lip gloss flavor was cherry---there, she had to make a face. Cherries, really? But that face could be misinterpreted, so she made hers slack and locked eyes with a smirking Sunset. Wow, that confidence was new. Old, but new for the new her. Oddly enough, it made her want to do that again.

"Well, uh. I think we can forget the hay," Applejack said, her voice pitching up far past its normal range as she laughed and tossed it across the room.

"Hey, I thought we were tidying up in here!" Sunset argued, leaning up into Applejack and poking a finger at her chest.

"Hate to break it to you but that might have to wait," was all Applejack would say before she threaded her fingers into Sunset's hair, finding that ponytail and effortlessly sliding it out. She wanted those red and gold locks all to herself...and they were just as fun to run her fingers through as she'd hoped. As a bonus, that action seemed to trigger the cutest sigh of contentment from her.

"That's fine with me. I think I like this better," Sunset agreed, her smile ever-bright and full of promise as she played with the brim of Applejack's hat.

Applejack answered by kissing her back down to the mattress, her first hand at this odd game of love. Yes, she'd have to roll up the hay later, but...for now, everything was perfect. She had her best friends, a new friend, and...seemingly something else. 

As for Sunset? In-between her frequent sighs, she knew: she wasn't as alone as she'd thought, and that was a beautiful thing. Just as pretty as the girl she was lacing her fingers with. This was the happiest she'd felt since long before coming to Canterlot High, it had to be---and she'd never let that feeling leave her heart again.


End file.
